What This Bill Does
This bill treats bump stocks (devices that attach to guns to speed up firing) the same way the law treats machine guns. The bill adds bump stocks to federal firearms regulations and requires people who own them to register them with the government within one year.
Who It Affects
People who currently own bump stocks. Federal firearms regulators. Gun manufacturers and dealers.
Key Provisions
- Bump stocks are now defined as devices attached to semiautomatic weapons (guns that fire one bullet per trigger pull) that allow firing without separate trigger movements for each shot and either speed up firing or copy a machine gun's firing pattern (Sec. 2(a)(2))
- A semiautomatic weapon that has been modified to eliminate separate trigger movements for each shot and speeds up firing or copies a machine gun is also considered a bump stock (Sec. 2(a)(2))
- People who own a bump stock on the date this law passes must register it within one year following the rules for firearm registration (Sec. 2(c)(2))
- People can legally keep a registered bump stock during the one-year registration period (Sec. 2(b)(1)(B))
What Changes
Bump stocks shift from being largely unregulated to being treated as machine guns under federal law. Owners must register their bump stocks with the government within one year or face legal penalties.
Important Definitions
Bump stock: A manual, power-driven or electronic device attached to a semiautomatic weapon that removes the need for separate trigger movements and speeds up or mimics machine gun firing.
Semiautomatic weapon: A gun that uses firing energy to remove the empty cartridge and load the next round but requires a separate trigger pull for each shot.
Effective Date
The law takes effect on the date it is signed by the president. People have one year from that date to register existing bump stocks (Sec. 2(c)).
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 396
To regulate bump stocks in the same manner as machineguns.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 17, 2023
Ms. TITUS (for herself, Mr. KILDEE, and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means,
and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
cerned
A BILL
To regulate bump stocks in the same manner as
machineguns.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Closing the Bump
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Stock Loophole Act of 2023’’.
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SEC. 2. BUMP STOCKS.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 5845 of the Internal Rev-
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enue Code of 1986 is amended—
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•HR 396 IH
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘and (8) a de-
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structive device.’’ and inserting ‘‘(8) a destructive
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device; and (9) a bump stock.’’; and
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(2) by adding at the end the following new sub-
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sections:
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‘‘(n) BUMP STOCK.—The term ‘bump stock’ means
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any of the following:
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‘‘(1) Any manual, power-driven, or electronic
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device that is designed such that when the device is
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attached to a semiautomatic weapon, the device
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eliminates the need for the operator of a semiauto-
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matic weapon to make a separate movement for each
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individual function of the trigger and—
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‘‘(A) materially increases the rate of fire of
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the semiautomatic weapon, or
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‘‘(B) approximates the action or rate of
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fire of a machinegun.
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‘‘(2) Any part or combination of parts that is
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designed and functions to eliminate the need for the
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operator of a semiautomatic weapon to make a sepa-
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rate movement for each individual function of the
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trigger and—
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‘‘(A) materially increases the rate of fire of
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a semiautomatic weapon, or
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•HR 396 IH
‘‘(B) approximates the action or rate of
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fire of a machinegun.
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‘‘(3) Any semiautomatic weapon that has been
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modified in any way that eliminates the need for the
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operator of the semiautomatic weapon to make a
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separate movement for each individual function of
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the trigger and—
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‘‘(A) materially increases the rate of fire of
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the semiautomatic weapon, or
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‘‘(B) approximates the action or rate of
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fire of a machinegun.
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‘‘(o) SEMIAUTOMATIC WEAPON.—The term ‘semi-
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automatic weapon’ means any repeating weapon that—
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‘‘(1) utilizes a portion of the energy of a firing
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cartridge or shell to extract the fired cartridge case
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or shell casing and chamber the next round, and
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‘‘(2) requires a separate function of the trigger
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to fire each cartridge or shell.’’.
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(b) AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 18, UNITED STATES
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CODE.—
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(1) Section 921(a) of title 18, United States
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Code, is amended—
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(A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘muffler
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or firearm silencer’’ and inserting ‘‘muffler,
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firearm silencer, or bump stock’’; and
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•HR 396 IH
(B) by adding at the end the following:
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‘‘(38) The term ‘bump stock’ has the meaning given
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such term in section 5845(n) of the National Firearms
3
Act (26 U.S.C. 5845(n)).’’.
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(2) Section 922 of title 18, United States Code,
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is amended—
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(A) in each of subsections (a)(4) and
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(b)(4), by inserting ‘‘bump stock,’’ before ‘‘ma-
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chinegun’’; and
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(B) in subsection (o)—
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(i) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or
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bump stock’’ before the period; and
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(ii) in paragraph (2)—
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(I) in subparagraph (A), by strik-
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ing ‘‘or’’ at the end;
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(II) in subparagraph (B), by
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striking the period and inserting ‘‘;
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or’’; and
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(III) by adding at the end the
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following:
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‘‘(C) the otherwise lawful possession of a bump
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stock that, on or before the date that is 1 year after
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the date of the enactment of this subparagraph, is
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registered to the possessor in accordance with sec-
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tion 5841 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.’’.
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•HR 396 IH
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by
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this section shall take effect on the date of the en-
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actment of this Act.
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(2) APPLICATION TO POSSESSION ON DATE OF
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ENACTMENT.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), any
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person on the date of the enactment of this Act pos-
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sessing a bump stock as defined in section 5845(n)
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of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as amended
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by this Act) shall, not later than the date that is 1
10
year after the date of the enactment of this Act, reg-
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ister such bump stock in accordance with section
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5841 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and in-
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clude with such registration the information required
14
under section 5841(a) of such Code. Such registra-
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tion shall become a part of the National Firearms
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Registration and Transfer Record required to be
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maintained by such section. The prohibition on pos-
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session of an unregistered firearm under section
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5861 of such Code shall not apply to a bump stock
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described in this Act on any date that is 1 year or
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less after the enactment of this Act.
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Æ
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